


(maybe i already show) my feelings for you

by ShippingEverything



Series: got time to make mistakes [4]
Category: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: ..... after a short build up, Gryffindor Albus Severus Potter, M/M, Slytherin Scorpius Malfoy, finally the pre slash will become slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-07-21 01:59:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16150160
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingEverything/pseuds/ShippingEverything
Summary: Teenage boys are, generally, oblivious. Luckily for Scorpius Malfoy, other people in his life aren't.or: three times people assumed albus and scorpius were dating and one time they got it together





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> a Quick project bc im very busy and tired from work and i need to,,, distract myself, so *jazzhands* here we are
> 
> title from meesh's More Than Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one happens like, right after their second year (so al and scorp have been friends for less than a year at this point)

“Scorpius! Post for you!” 

Scorpius leaps from his unpacking to run down the stairs and to Draco, who’s gently stroking a tawny owl that Scorpius immediately recognizes as being Albus’ owl, Fleck. He skids to a stop next to his dad. “Potter mail!”

“Potter mail,” Astoria confirms as she walks in, giving Scorpius a kiss on the cheek as his dad hands him an envelope. “Didn’t the two you just say goodbye two days ago?”

“So many things could’ve _changed_ since then, mum!” Scorpius responds. He’s sure his excitement seems silly to an outsider, getting so excited about mail when he’s reliably gotten at least two letters from Albus a week _every_ week during breaks, but it’s hard adjusting to not having your best friend nearby. Even at Hogwarts, where there’s a castle between the Gryffindor Tower and the Slytherin Dungeon, they spend more time together than apart, and Scorpius misses just being able to _talk_ to Albus, without waiting days for owls to travel between houses.

Scorpius goes to the sitting room and slides into one of the stiff-backed chairs, carefully opening the envelope. He fishes out a piece of parchment with Albus’ messy script on it; it’s littered with stray ink blots and smells vaguely of mint, like all of Albus’ letters from home do, and he can already feel his smile stretching into silly territory as he unfolds it. 

_  
Scorpius,  
_

_Summer’s just begun and being home is already an absolute nightmare. Lily is annoying, James is being a prat -- as always -- and my dad is ~~irritat~~ ~~terrib~~ ~~he just doesn’t~~ ~~he keeps trying to talk and~~_

~~__~~ _Well, you know how it is._

_Panju’s planning some kind of “Ultimate Prank” for school already, even though we just got out, and I’m stuck being his test dummy all summer because our parents are making us hang out._

_Again._

_My dad keeps stressing the importance of “having a large support system” and “being nice to others,” which is all bullocks, but my mum seems to think that being “good friends” with my cousins is important. I think she’s been reading Aunt Hermione’s parenting books again._

_The worst part is that I don’t even know if I can say being home is better than being at Hogwarts, because at least Hogwarts has you. I wish you could come over._

_Anyway, owl me back soon, let me know how the Malfoys’ French holiday is going. And give your mum my best, alright?_

_Yours,_

_ASP_

When Scorpius finishes reading, he feels like his heart’s been replaced by a fire crab. He’s absolutely sure that he looks ridiculous -- sitting with one leg folded into the chair, letter pressed to his heart, grinning goofily -- but he can’t find it in himself to care. _“At least Hogwarts has you”_ bounces around Scorpius’ head, and it’s all he can do to not jump around. 

It’s not that Albus is impersonal or _cold_ with him, of course not, but it’s always nice to have confirmation that he means as much to Albus as Albus means to him. Scorpius lets himself sit, gleeful, for a moment longer before he gives into his burst of energy and starts running back to his room to write Albus back. 

“Albus sends his best, mum!” Scorpius yells, as he speeds past the dining room.

“Hey, slow down!” Astoria says, and Scorpius reluctantly does so, though he continues to bounce on the balls of his feet. He stops in the doorway. Both of his parents are drinking tea and his mum is reading the paper, but she puts it down to look at him. “Are you all unpacked? We’re going into the city later, and I’d like all your stuff to be squared away by then.”

“I mean, sort of?” Scorpius rolls his lips thin, thinking of his mostly still-packed stuff in his room. “I promise it won’t take me long to finish up, I just have to write Albus back, then-”

“Love, you haven’t had the chance to do anything yet,” Astoria softly interjects, though she sounds a bit amused, “You can owl him back later, when you actually have something to tell him.”

“But if I owl him _now_ , he’ll get it by tomorrow, and then he can write me back, and it’ll only be about two days until I get another letter from him,” Scorpius explains, counting off the steps on his fingers, “If I wait until we come back, I might not get anything for _three_ days.”

“And what a tragedy that would be,” Draco says, drily. Scorpius deflates a little and Astoria swipes at Draco with her newspaper. The two share a look. Draco clears his throat. “What I meant, Scorpius, is that you two won’t fall apart if you don’t speak to him for more than two days. I feel like you spend more time writing than actually enjoying our holidays, sometimes.”

“I don’t mean to,” Scorpius says, wishing he was wearing a jumper so he could fidget with the sleeves and do something to occupy his hands from just folding and unfolding Albus’ letter, “It’s just- He’s my best mate, you know? He’s important to me, and I… miss him, a bit.”

“Leave him alone, Draco, don’t you remember when we were-” Astoria cuts herself off with a hum, frowning for a moment. His parents exchange another look, this one more weighted. Scorpius politely averts his eyes as his mother and father make faces at each other, communicating without saying anything. Eventually, Draco clears his throat and Astoria says, “We understand, Scorpius. You can go write Albus back, just make sure to unpack too, alright? And give him our best.”

Scorpius is already in motion again by the time she finishes talking, climbing the stairs two at a time. “Got it! Thanks mum!” 

When he gets to his own room, he collapses on his bed, rereading Albus’ letter twice. He sighs, happily, and levers himself up to grab his writing supplies. He has a letter to write.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> draco and astoria 100% think scorpius and albus are dating and that scorpius just doesn’t want to tell them yet and they're trying to Be Supportive. Also please imagine helpless playing in the background for this one
> 
> next chapter probably soon? its mostly written already


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter stage right: Roxanne and Panju Weasley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have to leave for work in 4 hours.... this is fine
> 
> also this one happens at the beginning of third year

Things have been weird since summer break. In the last two years, Scorpius has gotten used to dodging jinxes, to moving quickly and quietly, to making himself small, and to looking over his shoulder, but recently that hasn’t been enough. Since they got back from summer break, Scorpius has had more troubles than ever: he gets hit by at least two tripping jinxes a day and his bag’s been _diffindo_ -ed enough that he could probably cast _reparo_ in his sleep, but the _weirdest_ thing is that he’s been getting hit by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes products; in Scorpius’ experience, when people think you’re the son of Voldemort, they don’t usually just want to cause _minor annoyance_. Before, he’d always been more likely to get attacked by a stinging jinx than a revulsion jinx. 

When he’d brought it up to Albus, just to say how weird the change in procedure was, Albus narrowed his eyes and said “I'll deal with it,” sighing in a way that meant he was mad -- but _not_ at Scorpius, as Scorpius had learned to decipher in the past year. Scorpius hadn't even been able to tell Albus that wasn't a big deal before Albus had, like a typical Gryffindor, gone rushing away to right some injustice. 

So now Scorpius is doing his homework alone in the library. He’s trying to read from two books simultaneously when someone clears their throat above him. He looks up to see… Roxanne and Panju Weasley. It’s a bit unnerving, because both of them are staring him down with an intensity that he’s previously only seen the two use on creating pranks, as well as a bit shocking because, well... Scorpius doesn’t think he’s ever seen either of them in the library.

“Uh, hello.” He says. They don’t respond. “I’m not sure where Albus is right now-”

“We’re not looking for Albus,” Panju says.

“Okay…?” Scorpius raises an eyebrow, waiting, but the Weasleys remain silent. Scorpius, through still wary of them, turns back to his books. They both sigh and slide into the chairs across from him. 

“Listen, Malfoy,” Roxanne starts, one hand nervously pulling at her coiled black curls as she speaks, “We’re here to apologize.”

“What?”

“It was just a bit of practical joking, you know, we didn’t mean anything by it,” She says.

Panju nods beside her, “James said it’d be funny, and it was, but uh-”

“Oh,” Scorpius interrupts, eyes widening, things finally connecting in his head. The harmless jinxes, the WWW products, Albus’ exasperation, it all makes sense now. “Oh, don’t worry about it! I don’t know what Albus said, but you really don’t have to apologize. It was a welcome change from the usual jinxes.”

“Usual jinxes?”

“Yeah, you know,” Scorpius says, averting his eyes as he laughs self-deprecatingly, “Because just writing _Voldemort’s son_ on my books and bag and trunk isn’t enough, it has to be spelled out in blisters on my forehead too.”

When Roxy and Panju are silent for longer than expected, Scorpius risks a glance up and is shocked to find the two just frowning at each other. 

“We don't like you,” Panju says eventually, and Scorpius can't help the shocked laugh that slips through his lips. _Really? Never would've guessed!_ Panju shoots Scorpius a sharp look like he can imagine what Scorpius is thinking, and continues, “But we… Well, my dad and mum and Hermione always say that we should help people who can't protect themselves.”

“And if Al likes you enough to interfere personally rather than just tattling to Aunt Ginny then, well, you must be worth it,” Roxanne finishes. She frowns a bit deeper and quickly adds, “Mind you, I still don't approve, don't think your little sob story's made us soft-”

“What ‘sob story'-”

“But!” Roxanne interrupts, “I can respect Al's choices, and we would never want him to think he has to choose between his family and his… His _you_.”

Scorpius squints at her. “I’m pretty sure ‘friend’ suffices.”

Roxanne and Panju exchange amused looks. Scorpius is suddenly incredibly confused again, for all the clarity that finally realizing who was doing the pranks gave him.

“Sure, if you’d like,” Panju says, like he’s conceding something, “But between a _friend_ and family, we don't know what Al would choose anyway. Could have a regular Shakespeare situation on our hands here.”

“Blood of the covenant and all that,” Roxanne agrees, nodding. At least, Scorpius thinks she's agreeing -- this whole conversation has been dizzying, like Roxanne and Panju are on a completely different wavelength than Scorpius, and not just because of their Weasley quirks or all the weird muggle references they keep making. “Listen, the point is, if Al wants us to stop then we will, because he's our cousin and we care about him. And you… Well, we'll treat you the same as James’ or Freddy’s or Little Molly's _friends_.”

“I… Thank you?” Scorpius tries. He's decided, after connecting all the namedropping and context clues, that this is probably just another Big Weasley-Potter-Etcetera Family thing; just the sort of thing that he'll never really understand, growing up estranged on his father's side and with no cousins on his mother's. “That's very kind of you both to say.”

That seems to be enough for them, and the two nod in almost scary synchronicity and stand up. As they're leaving, Panju claps Scorpius on the shoulder. “Weasley's take care of their own, alright? And if Al cares about you, then you're one of us.” 

Scorpius is still a bit too blindsided by all of this to do much more than blink after them, but a warm feeling sticks in his chest even as he forces himself back to his reading. It's odd, for someone who grew up as alone as Scorpius did, to feel a part of something. His parents love him, of course, and Aunt Daphne has always been kind, but it's different when it's people his own age; it was odd when Albus first decided to stick around, to keep coming back to Myrtle's bathroom and to share Scorpius’ sweets and to talk to him in classes and the halls and to write to him over breaks, and its odd now that it’s an apparent gaggle of Weasley's deciding that he's worth accepting just because Albus _cares_ about him. 

_This must be how dad felt when he married mum and got the whole Greengrass family_ , Scorpius thinks before he can stop himself. He shakes the thought out of his head, because that's _different_ , marriage into a family and friendship are completely different things and he knows that.

He still can't seem to make his cheeks cool down for a long time after the thought, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- *roxanne and panju voice* you became friends with our sulky cousin albus and then shared your tragic backstory with us. any and every weasley will now _die for you_.
> 
> \- Speaking of: the next person who hexes scorpius ends up with their skin dyed bright orange for a week. it doesn't take long for the hexes to stop after that. 
> 
> \- also: this was a throwaway line but wow panju, why do you get TWO incredibly capable, brilliant, and wonderful moms? (as I said in my series notes, ron and padma are divorced, but it was a chill divorce and ron has been Sort Of Kind Of dating hermione for most of panju's life so they all raise him together


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpius Malfoy meets Nearly Headless Nick, ghost of Gryffindor and friend to all Potters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one happens third year, After easter break. So, after albus has had his Scorpius Revelation in my other fic (Scorpius doesnt have a cousin to push his realization along, poor boy)

“You there, Scorpius Malfoy!”

Scorpius jumps, looking around wildly. Nearly Headless Nick floats above him, waving his hands as though Scorpius wouldn’t have noticed a ghost yelling for him.

“Yes?” Scorpius replies, cautiously. He doesn’t have much experience with ghosts, besides Peeves the poltergeist, the Bloody Baron, and Myrtle; Peeves is a menace, the Baron is terrifying, and Myrtle is… Myrtle. He certainly didn’t expect to be confronted by the Gryffindor house ghost mid-evening.

“I have a favor to ask you, young Malfoy,” Nick says, wringing his hands, “I know it's unfair for me to meddle in mortal affairs, especially those that I have no right to, but I've always had a soft spot for the Potter's. You understand, I'm sure.”

Scorpius, who's recently found more and more often that he's unable to say no when Albus asks something of him, can completely relate. Still, he's not going to promise a strange ghost anything. “What do you need?”

Nick waves a finger at Scorpius, somewhat condescendingly. “Not what I need, but what _you_ need. You see, I've spent a great many years at Hogwarts and I've become adept at reading situations of many kinds with students. I don't like to gossip or stick my nose where it doesn't belong, however, in this case, I feel like I am the most suitable proxy by which to-”

Scorpius fidgets impatiently. “Really, I do want to help you, but I'm sort of busy. Would you mind being more precise?”

It's only Scorpius’ rearing that stops him from outright saying _“Would you hurry up and get to your point, or, better yet, just go away?”_ Still, Nick nods at his request.

“I will make this quick then, for you,” Nick says, as though he's doing Scorpius a favor and not the other way around. Scorpius rolls his eyes, _How very Gryffindor of him_. Nick clasps his hands together and asks, passionately, “Please, young Malfoy, forgive Albus Potter of whatever slight he's done.”

Scorpius stares at Nearly Headless Nick. Nearly Headless Nick stares back, beseechingly. “… What?”

“It’s none of my business, but I've witnessed him sulk around the common room much more often than usual, and the paintings were speaking of how you shooed him away from the library but days ago,” Nick gestures widely, as though he's just laid out great evidence. “I know I should not ask it, but I can't bare to see a Potter in pain.”

Scorpius huffs, remembering the way Albus had whined at him and huffed boredly until Scorpius had to _beg_ him to leave, just so Scorpius could get _any_ work done. “I had an essay to write and he kept trying to distract me. And he's just always sulky, it's what makes him Albus -- he's sulky and dry and a bit self-absorbed, but it's all very becoming on him.”

Nick still looks skeptical. “Are you certain, because -- while it is still not my domain and I apologize for prodding you so -- I have quite a lot of experience sorting out lovers’ spats, and I'd be happy to offer my assistance.”

“It’s not a-” Scorpius starts, but his volume is too loud, his face too hot, his pitch too high. He clears his throat and tries again, “It's not a _lovers’ spat_ , he's just upset that I won't let him come with me to the library unless he's doing actual work, which he rarely is.”

Nick inspects Scorpius for a moment and then nods, apparently happy with whatever he finds. “Very good. I always thought that studies should never come before love, but then, perhaps if I had studied more then I wouldn't have met my end from a mis-done spell. I won't use any more of your time then.”

“We're not in love,” Scorpius insists, but Nick is already gone -- disappeared into a wall to go strong-arm some other student, Scorpius supposes. He sighs deeply and continues back on his way to the Dungeon. On his way, he thinks about Nearly Headless Nick's assumption about his relationship with Albus.

 _I don’t get it,_ He thinks, _Not that I mind it, Albus_ is _quite fit and someone assuming we're together means they also thought I was in his league, but we’re really just friends. Best friends, of course, but nothing more. Maybe it's just that people aren't used to closeness in friends? Panju did seem pretty shocked to find out that my amortentia was fairly Albus-centric, but that doesn't exactly mean that it's anything_ but _friendship. I mean, just because I find Albus charming and kind and handsome and funny and-_

Scorpius comes to a stop in the middle of the corridor. He thinks again about the amortentia, about falling asleep in front of the fireplace during a secret late night floo call last break, about Albus’ many virtues, and about how his toes curl and an involuntary smile blooms on his face when he imagines Albus’ adorably messy hair and his piercingly intense green eyes and his rare but beautiful smile. A few things click, embarrassingly slowly, into place.

 _Huh_.

Scorpius starts walking again, speeding up a bit. He wants to get back to his dorm quickly, he has a lot to think about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alright! Thank you for waiting for this with me (I work,,, a Lot, but I'm trying my best!) and I hope to get the final chapter out soon!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoo thanks for sticking with me fellas. here's the end

See, the thing is, Scorpius likes to think that he's fairly good with words. Be it from his -- admittedly nerdy -- nature, or from a childhood with only books for companions, he's always had a certain knack for words. That, he thinks, is what makes it so _outstandingly frustrating_ that he can’t seem to think of what to say to Albus.

In the past, Scorpius had wished for more friends in his own house, but now he thinks it’s useful that his housemates have chosen to ignore and avoid him; it means that there’s no one in their dorm room to watch Scorpius lie on his back, resignedly frowning at the canopy of his bed. Ever since his run-in with Nearly Headless Nick, every interaction he’d had with Albus had followed a similar pattern:

He sees Albus and begins to feel like his whole body’s been filled with air, like everything’s a bit brighter (he's starting to think that maybe this isn't a new sensation, that maybe Albus has _always_ made him feel like this, because it feels routine enough to almost be unnoticable); they speak for a bit, like normal, before Albus does _something_ , whether it be pushing back his hair or smirking devilishly or joking dryly, that _should_ be normal but now makes Scorpius’ heart skip (this, too, feels familiar, but Scorpius hadn't ever noticed it before he began to put serious thought into his feelings); then, Scorpius suddenly loses all capability of coherent speech and most control of his motor functions, no doubt making a fool of himself by spilling something or stuttering or just speaking _nonsense_ , which of course means that he has to leave, right then, immediately, to go scream into a pillow.

It would be so much easier, in Scorpius’ opinion, if he’d just stayed oblivious.

“What am I supposed to do?” Scorpius asks the empty room, “Just go up and tell him I like his face? He’d _laugh_.”

And Scorpius is certain he would; maybe not out of malice -- of course not, Albus is _quite_ nice, despite the scowling facade he puts up -- but out of incredulity that Scorpius Malfoy (who was, among other things, socially inept, a giant nerd, and _Slytherin_ ) would even think that he’d have a chance with charming, sarcastic, handsome Albus Severus Potter. Scorpius groans, rolling over to press his face into the covers. _Maybe ignorance really is bliss_ , He thinks miserably.

He sits up again, inadvertently crinkling a piece of parchment lying beside him on the bed. He scowls at it, as though it’s the source of all his problems; it is, in a way, because it’s the culmination of two weekends of being locked away in the Dungeon, trying to get all his thoughts about Albus Potter sorted out. It’s mostly little notes like “Eyes - incredibly green, smouldering? Very nice” and “Don’t mention that he looks like his father, though he does, in a good way, but he wouldn’t get it” interspersed with longer bits focusing on Scorpius’ feelings, all of which had made Scorpius go bright red to write. He sighs, loudly, and picks up a quill and the parchment. If he can’t manage to get himself to _say_ anything, he might as well write a bit more.

* * *

Scorpius thinks that being in l- _having a crush_ is quite possibly the worst thing to ever happen to him. At this point, even being turned down would be preferable to how Scorpius is living now; at least being turned down would mean that Scorpius could finally stop holding onto hope at every brush of hands, stray look, or secret smile.

It’s with this in mind that Scorpius decides to finally bite the bullet, metaphorically, square his shoulders, literally, and try to tell Albus how he feels. The last Hogsmeade day of the year is coming up; despite Albus burning _at least_ four different permission slips this summer, Headmistress McGonagall ended up receiving the affirmative from Harry Potter that Albus could go to Hogsmeade, and Scorpius has even managed to convince Albus to give it a try a few times this year. It would be a great place for a date, especially since they already always go with each other, but for it to even be a possibility, Scorpius will have to actually _say something_ , so he sets off to do just that. In his hands, he has a rather large roll of parchment that holds a script of sorts. The idea of going in with only some notes or, god forbid, just his _thoughts_ , had made his stomach turn, so he figured that trying to write the whole interaction out couldn’t hurt anyone. The hardest part is, weirdly enough, finding Albus, but Scorpius eventually manages to track him down, sitting on the ground of Myrtle’s bathroom of all places. _It’s fitting_ , Scorpius thinks, _that our friendship will end where it began_.

“Uh, hello there,” Scorpius says, and immediately wants to hit himself. Albus looks up at him, as if shocked, before scowling.

“You’ve certainly been sparse lately,” Albus says, testily.

Scorpius pales. This was _not_ a part of his script. “Well, it’s just been that classes are so much difficult, and I’ve been quite busy with, er, you know. Slytherin stuff.”

“You don’t have to make excuses,” Albus says, turning moodily away from Scorpius to look towards the wall. “You can just say that you didn’t want to see me.”

“No, no, I’d never not want to see you,” Scorpius says, quickly, nearly tripping over himself in his haste to move beside Albus. Then, thinking that maybe he’d been a bit too transparent, he continues, “That is to say, I mean-”

“I haven’t seen you outside of classes in _weeks_ ,” Albus says, his scowl softening into something that more resembles a pout.

Scorpius flushes, knowing full well why he’s been avoiding his friend. “It really wasn’t your fault or anything, I promise. I was _quite_ busy.”

Scorpius’ words hang in the air between them as Albus whips his head back away from Scorpius, still almost-pouting. Scorpius shifts, until he’s sitting lotus style. He subconsciously tightens his hand around his parchment, making it crackle.

“Is that what you were so busy with?” Albus asks, glancing out of the corner of his eye and gesturing towards the roll.

“Yes, actually,” Scorpius admits, pressing it and laughing in a way that’s supposed to be casual but that he’s sure just sounds unhinged. “It, well, it has to do with you, so that’s why I had to- Why I _couldn’t_ see you for a few weeks.”

Albus doesn’t seem completely appeased, but Scorpius can tell his interest is piqued by how he’s begun to turn his body back towards Scorpius.

“Well?” Albus prompts, “What is it then?”

Scorpius, who had come here with the intention to share what was on the parchment with Albus, still goes stiff with nerves. He feels his face heating up, and curses his pale complexion. “Just… Some writing.”

“Fine. Don’t tell me then.” Albus huffs and rolls his eyes, making to stand up. Scorpius, panicked, grabs his arm.

“Don’t go.” Scorpius says, sure that he looks a bit frantic. Albus narrows his eyes but sits back down, one knee lifted so he can rest his chin on it. Scorpius fusses with the paper. “I’ll read it to you, just… You have to wait for me to find my place, okay?”

Albus nods, acquiescing, so Scorpius unrolls the parchment and begins scanning it for a good place to start. Really, this whole interaction has been off script, a complete disaster, and he’s not sure that he can get it back on track; even besides that, he didn’t realize how unwieldy trying to read at least two feet of parchment was. As he’s searching for a good place to start, he becomes aware of Albus focusing very intently on the parchment, head tilted exaggeratedly to the side.

“Are you-” Scorpius crumples the parchment in his haste to pull it to his chest and get it away from Albus, “Are you reading my notes upside down?”

Albus untilts his head, narrowing his eyes at Scorpius. “Was that a flow chart?”

“More like a series of if-then statements,” Scorpius corrects, morosely. Surely, if Albus was able to deduce that much, he knows what Scorpius was intending to say. Albus stares at Scorpius for a bit longer, in silence. Scorpius nervously fidgets, then clears his throat twice. “So did you see what it was all about?”

“Yeah, Hogsmeade. Though I don’t get why you’ve made such a big deal about it. We always go together,” Albus says, then turns a bit pink, “You’re the only one I’d like to go with, anyway.”

Something in Scorpius’ chest warms up, even despite Albus’ obvious misunderstanding in Scorpius’ Hogsmeade outing intentions. “Really?”

“Well, obviously. You’re the only slightly bearable person around here.”

Albus’ words seem harsh, and might have annoyed anyone else, but Scorpius has learned how to read between the lines of Albus-speak since they’ve become friends, and merely smiles, despite his nerves. “You’re the only one I’d like to go with, too.”

Albus’ pinkness rapidly turns into full on blushing; red flows to the tips of his ears, over the bridge of his nose, down his cheeks. Scorpius, suddenly feeling much better about all of this -- even if he's still a bit of an anxious wreck -- decides to do something that he rarely tries: he decides to be spontaneous. Spontaneity leads him to place his hand on Albus’, resisting the ever-present urge to just run away and hide forever as Albus looks at him in shock.

“I was thinking,” Scorpius says, eyes focusing somewhere over Albus’ shoulder as Albus looks down at their overlapping hands, “That maybe, this time, we could go to Hogsmeade together in a different way, if you wanted.”

“If I wanted?” Albus asks. He still seems a bit shellshocked. “I had thought- well, when you started avoiding me, I just figured that you realized about me, wanting to, er, go to Hogsmeade with you in a different way and all that, and that _you_ didn’t want it.”

“I- _you_ -” Scorpius laughs, a bit manic, “It took me three weeks to build up the courage to ask you, if I had _any_ idea that you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me-”

“I think,” Albus interrupts, turning his hand so that he and Scorpius are holding hands properly, “That I’ve always wanted to go to Hogsmeade with you.”

Scorpius immediately turns bright red, can feel his face burning hotter than it would if he’d had a pepper imp, but despite it all he can feel a grin tugging at his lips. He looks down at their joined hands and then back up at Albus. “So would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me?”

“I- Bugger all, this is a hell of a metaphor, isn’t it?” Albus shakes his head, but he’s smiling too. “I, for lack of a better phrase, _like_ you.”

“I like you too,” Scorpius assures Albus, “I really, _really_ like you, enough that it’s actually quite embarrassing. But I was honestly asking about Hogsmeade, I mean it’s the last one of the year, and it’s the best spot of a date around, and-”

Albus cuts Scorpius off by physically putting his hand over Scorpius’ mouth. Scorpius is thankful for the intervention, as he’s sure that he could’ve talked forever if left alone.

“I would like to go anywhere with you,” Albus says, seriously, staring Scorpius down with this brilliant, bright green eyes. He slowly lowers his hand, placing it on top of their already laced ones to sandwich Scorpius’ hand. “Hogsmeade or otherwise.”

Scorpius Malfoy, feeling like his chest is full of helium, like his nerves are alight, like he’s going to explode with joy, beams helplessly at Albus. “It’s a date, then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \- I just want it to be 100% clear to all readers that albus literally never noticed that scorpius was acting weird because albus was too busy trying to make sure that he didn’t act weird and make his crush too noticeable. Disaster boys.
> 
> \- It took me a Very long time to find a way to describe sitting “criss cross applesauce” in a way that wasn’t using those words, both because I don’t think they say that in England and because I’m not a kindergartener
> 
> i genuinely hope you enjoyed this fic because i've had such fun writing it (even if,,, it took me Ages to figure out how to end this chapter). thank you so so much for reading and i Hope to write more of this 'verse... eventually

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! comments and kudos fill my heart
> 
> [Main Tumblr (pldubrahs)](http://www.pldubrahs.tumblr.com) | [Writing Tumblr (nacreousglowclouds)](http://nacreousglowclouds.tumblr.com/) | [Personal Twitter (@squidias)](http://twitter.com/squidias)


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